Surgery recovery and fitness

GreenBayDiva

A long story short I am on the upswing of recovering from surgery I can walk very short distances. I have a strong desire to start working out but my body isn't quite ready, pesky internal abdominal sutures, extreme fatigue. But I don't want that to stop me. I have no excuse in eating right, drinking water, maintaining good emotional, mental, and social health. Any recommendations for physical health?

Carlos_421

Follow Doctor's orders and wait until you have their clearance to start any kind of exercise regimen.
The benefits of exercise don't outweigh the risk of internal injuries/complications.

Need2Exerc1se

Carlos_421 wrote: »

Follow Doctor's orders and wait until you have their clearance to start any kind of exercise regimen.
The benefits of exercise don't outweigh the risk of internal injuries/complications.

This ^ pretty much says it all when it comes to exercise.

As far as diet, I'll tell you what my doctor told me after abdominal surgery - This is not the time to diet. Focus on nutrition and make sure you don't under eat. Your body needs fuel to heal.

I followed the diet and exercise orders and healed up nicely and quickly.

cwolfman13

Carlos_421 wrote: »

Follow Doctor's orders and wait until you have their clearance to start any kind of exercise regimen.
The benefits of exercise don't outweigh the risk of internal injuries/complications.

Yup...

And it's not excuses...recovering from surgery, injury, etc aren't excuses...they're legit reasons to lay low and recover...which is ultimately more important to the bigger picture.

trigden1991

Eat at maintenance, follow doctor's orders on exercise and recover. Once you get the all clear you can focus on your fitness.

stealthq

Ditto following the doctor's orders.

If you don't want to listen to the doc, listen to that fatigue you're feeling. You still need plenty of rest to heal and (likely) to get over the anesthesia.

Much better to rest up and start back when you are physically ready then to jump the gun then to set yourself back by weeks, months, or (God forbid) do yourself some irreversible damage.

jo_nz

Totally agree with waiting until you get clearance from the doc.

Also, remember that while it feels like forever now, you will look back on it as just a small bump in the road.

I was laid up for a couple of months last year, and then it took me a long time to get my strength and fitness back, but now it seems like ancient history and not that big of an issue in the long run. (Wouldn't really want to do that again though!)
This time a year ago I was stuck on the couch, now I am more fit and weigh less than before my injury.

Just eat well - I found I really had to watch my calories during recovery. I felt like I was working really hard (physiotherapy WAS hard work) but it wasn't burning a lot of cals.

All the best!

lorrpb

You need nutrition to recover and rebuild your muscles. Unfortunately, surgery DOES force you to put exercise on hold for a few weeks. Things happen in life and we have to deal with them. You will get back in to it fast enough if you were in good shape before this happen. Heal well!